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Adora, Tel Aviv Closed

EatDrinkTelAviv has been informed of several restaurant closures in 2016. The first Tel Aviv restaurant to report is one of the first we added to the website: Adora. A beautiful Middle-Eastern with French influence restaurant Adora took the ordinary and made it extraordinary. If we can learn anything from Adora, Tel Aviv is that it only takes a little creativity to make dishes different and delicious.

You can read the original review below.

Adora, Ben Yehuda 226, Tel Aviv

Adora, is a quaint and romantic Tel Aviv restaurant at the north end of Ben Yehuda, by Nordau. The warm dark wood interior invites you into a friendly dining experience that offers an array of French and Mediterranean cuisines. Keep in mind though, the unique menu by chef Avi Biton, offers many more flavoured dishes to suit any palate.

While I would consider this an upscale restaurant, the prices do not break the wallet, and it would be an ideal place to take a loved one to a special dinner, or anniversary. Or if you are at that magical 3-month dating point; You want to show her you have taste, but you don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable at how much you are spending. Adora, Tel Aviv offers a quiet atmosphere, lovely music, a comprehensive bar and friendly staff.

As romantic as having dinner by candle light at Adora might be, diners should know that the restaurant offers an incredible lunch time special. For 69NIS you receive an appetizer and main dish that are both rich in flavour and incredibly satisfying. For a small charge you get access to some other high-end dishes like the Goose-Filled Ravioli (+14NIS) or the Atlantic Salmon (+9NIS). In essence it is like getting your appetizer for free and paying for an incredible entree. (Check out the sample of our dishes with their dinner prices in brackets.)

Adora Restaurant Rating

Graduation Lunch

My friend Daniel F. calls me up and says he wants to treat himself to a nice dinner as a graduation gift. He invites myself and a few other friends from Toronto to join him at Adora Restaurant in Tel Aviv. It’s an excellent choice for a graduation gift. The lunch special is priced right and the food is excellent. But Daniel and I already know that.

We spent the year completing our masters degree in Conflict Resolution and Mediation at Tel Aviv University, and being Canadian we developed a friendship based on a mutual love for Tim Horton’s, and Maple Leafs hockey. Honestly though, I faked any understanding of hockey but was very keen to talk about donuts. Also, it’s imperative as any Canadian will know to seek each other out. We are usually outnumbered by Americans and well… we don’t know how to use guns. (Except, maybe, if you are from Alberta.) When I finally moved to Tel Aviv a few months into the school year I asked Daniel to help me move some of my furniture. As a thank you I offered to take him to lunch. Daniel, not knowing the area researched the “Best Falafel” and Adora, Tel Aviv had received raving reviews for its eggplant stuffed falafel.

I’m all for paying for lunch when a friend helps me move, but I felt like I got duped into some bizarre romantic lunch date with my classmate, (my male classmate) just because he googled “best falafel on Ben Yehuda.” I figured I’d take the kid to some easy-quick fast-food like spot, drop a few shekels and be done. When we walked into Adora, I was a little surprised.

Me: Umm…, I wanted to say thanks for helping me move, not try to get you back to my apartment.

Daniel: I didn’t know it was so fancy. I just read it has the best falafel in the area.

Me: I feel like like I’m being Punk’d. By the way, stay on your side of the table.

In the end we stayed, because 1) I’m lazy and 2) I was starving after moving all the furniture. And to Daniel’s credit the restaurant food was delicious, and offered great value and indeed the Eggplant Falafel was one of the more tastier dishes on the menu.

It’s part of the reason Daniel keeps wanting to return. Good ROI (return on investment.) He is a smart, well read, opinionated, methodical and bright young man, and with him currently doing his Law degree back in Canada has a very promising career in politics if he wanted it. That is of course if he perfected his French. (Maybe that’s why he keeps coming back the French inspired cuisine of Adora.)

Graduation Business Lunch

Adora Restaurant has their incredible lunch time special of 69NIS – for an entree and appetizer. The menu has several options available to you, and for a few shekels more there are several “premium dishes” offered. No matter what, it is an incredible deal.

Adora, oh Adora

Daniel F. invites a few other friends from Toronto, so it’s nice to eat in the company of your country-men (and women.) The great thing about going with a large eclectic group is that each one of us ordered something different. Steve orders the Oso Buco with potato puree, which he found very satisfying. The meat was tender and fall off the bone, with a rich red wine reduction. His appetizer was the Jerusalem Mixed Grill cigars, which he found very flavourful and a good twist on the classic moroccan cigars.

Michelle ordered the Gazpacho for appetizer and the Spinach Truffle Risotto. The Gazpacho is a beautifully colourful dish and she described the risotto as creamy, and perfectly done.

Daniel S. ordered the Goose-Filled Ravioli, which was so incredible and amazing I was unable to grab a photo of it, he devoured it so quickly. Daniel F. ordered the Veal in tomato and eggplantand of course started his meal with the famed Eggplant stuffed Falafel.

I ordered the Red Tuna Carpaccio which was fresh and simple, with the Atlantic Salmon Phylla. The fish is wrapped in a phylo dough and baked, and served on top of a Dijon mustard and Champagne sauce. It’s an incredible warm and protein rich meal, with subtle flavours (incredible sauce), wrapped in utter happiness (I’m a fan of phylo, it’s like unwrapping a gift of food.)

Each time I’ve gone to Adora I am amazed at the quality of the food. The menu is filled with a mixture of several cuisines with strong Mediterranean and French influences. The fish is fresh and their natural flavours come through on the dishes, the Oso Buco and Risotto are perfect dishes to warm your heart, and the Falafel is such a unique creation it must be ordered.

Final Word

A graduation lunch at Adora’s was the perfect venue. It’s a very small, inviting restaurant that allows its patrons –be it couples or a small group of friends — to enjoy high quality food, in an comfortable non-pretentious environment. Make reservations for a romantic date, or with another couple to delight in the variety of dishes. The price is right, the food is excellent and it really does have the best falafel balls on Ben Yehuda.